Berserker
by EVA-01 Beta
Summary: A possible outcome of the events surrounding the 12th Angel. Asuka's and Rei's feelings about Shinji are exposed, and Unit-01 doesn't feel like stopping with only a dead Angel


**_Berserker_**

**_By: EVA-01 Beta_**

Author's Notes:

1.I in no way lay claim to Neon Genesis Evangelion, its' characters, plot, or anything else about it. All I claim is the plot I create in this fic. 

2.Writing style: 

"Normal Speech/Communication" 

_Thoughts and feelings_> 

{**_Shinji's and Asuka's comments n the hospital room made during the flashback / retelling of events_**} 

~Visual or audio events that cannot be more easily (or more humorously) inserted~ 

3.This is my first non-ACC fic, and I'm pretty sure it goes way OOC on Rei and Asuka, but, believe it or not, I can actually see this happening. Or at least most of it… 

4.A goodly portion of the first combat scene I pulled directly off the episode, and I only began my own, completely independent work at about the second paragraph of scene three, and then heads back towards the episode in scene five, but these events have to be copied in there for the rest of it to make sense, if any of it will in the first place. 

5.Reviews would be appreciated, and as long as you don't run ramped through my review page, calling my friends and I a bunch of Psychotic sons of bitches who deserve to die (or something of equal personal insult value) , I will at least recognize your input. 

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NERV 1st Cranial Hospital ^10:24 AM^ 

_Huh? What's going on? Where am I?_> the boy wondered as he swam back into consciousness, _I know this ceiling, this place…_> he realized as he opened his eyes and looked around, eventually landing themselves in line with those of his fellow pilot. After a moment, he simply said, "Rei?" 

"I am here, Pilot Ikari." was the short response. 

"What happened? Why am I here again? I… I don't remember…" Shinji began muttering as he tried to sort through the jumbled collection of memories he had of the last few days. Nothing justified another hospital trip… except maybe…, maybe that last Angel did something to him. 

"You were captured for a period of time by the Twelfth Angel. In the resulting sortie, your Evangelion was damaged." Rei responded with a certain lag between every few words, as though trying to select those most appropriate, "How are you, Pilot Ikari?" 

"Fine, I guess. But I'd like to find out what happened…" Shinji absent-mindedly answered as he continued his soul-searching session. 

"Well, that's good for you." Rei commented as she stood up from her seat at Shinji's side and headed for the door, stopping just before it and saying back towards the room's primary occupant, "Are you willing to see Pilot Soryu? She has been waiting outside your room for most of your recovery here." 

Shinji was caught somewhat off-guard by that fact. _Asuka, waiting for me? That's… strange…_> "Sure. Send her in, I guess." Was the most functional answer he could come up with, as his mind was on other matters. 

"Very well, Pilot Ikari." Rei commented as she continued out, startling the redhead when the door slid open, mainly due to the fact that she had been leaning heavily against it in an attempt to hear their conversation. "Pilot Soryu, Pilot Ikari wishes to see you." She informed the still somewhat off-balance young girl without the slightest hesitation in her pace down the hall. 

"So," Asuka said as she entered the room and took the same seat Ayanami had occupied for the last three hours, "you finally decided to stop boring the Hell out of us and wake up. It's about damn time. Do you have any clue how much time Misato made me waste hanging around here waiting for your sorry ass to get out of that coma or whatever you were in." 

"Nice to see you, too." Shinji was feeling strangely bold all of a sudden and actually stood up for himself a bit after the redhead's smartass comments, "But I doubt even Misato could get you to do something you really didn't want to do. You wouldn't put up with it." 

~major sweatdrop~ "Yeah, well…, if you went and took the coward's way out and died on me, then who would I have do to do all those things beneath the Great Asuka Langley Soryu, hm? Finding someone as spineless as you is gonna' be pretty hard, yet it is a task unworthy of my time." Asuka tried to recover from the boy's comment. _Damn kid knows me too well. I must be slipping or something. But, then, why am I hanging around this hospital waiting for him?_> she thought. Suddenly, the aggressive emotional shell surrounding her personality slammed down in her mind, _Ah, who gives a damn. This little wimp isn't anything to us. Nothing at all…_> it complained, yet the Asuka beyond this façade knew better, that she at least felt something for Shinji, although she wasn't quite sure yet what 'something' was. At this point, only a full second from the beginning of her introspective journey, she noticed that Shinji was staring at her. A few seconds later, now convinced that she wasn't joking with him, the young Ikari sunk into his bed. 

"Figures." He mumbled dejectedly and simply sat there a moment, then changed the subject. "Asuka, what happened out there? I remember heading out to attack the 12th Angel, then I woke up here. How'd I get here?" 

"You… you really don't remember, do you? Probably for the better, but if you want to know…" 

"Yes." 

"Okay, then. Here goes…"   
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Tokyo-3: Downtown: Active Combat Zone ^11:44 AM^ 

{**_"Let's start from the last thing you say you remember…" Asuka began to tell the tale, "Heading out to fight the Angel…"_**} 

"After all, combat's a MAN's job!" Shinji's voice was heard in Unit-02's Entry Plug, the comment enraging its' occupant. 

"CHELVINIST PIGLET!" Asuka cried with violent fury, sending pulsing waves of anger for a split second before realizing it had no great effect. An exasperated sigh later, she called in, "Unit-02 will back him up." as she continued towards her designated point. 

"Unit-00 will back up, as well." Ayanami replied simply. 

After a few more minutes of stumbling around behind buildings, a whispered voice was heard on the 'tach net. 

"Ayanami, Asuka, are you in your positions yet?" Shinji questioned. 

"Not yet." Rei responded in an equally quiet tone. 

"You know an EVA can't move that fast, you twit!" Asuka informed in a rather subdued version of her normal bitchy tone when answering such a question. She was about to comment further when her EVA came to a dead stop as Asuka encountered a minor problem. "Shit!" she muttered as she pulled the EVAs Power Umbilical Release and reached behind her for a replacement. As she installed it, Shinji was heard once again asking, "Are you there?" 

Asuka, finally done fighting with her power supply, was about to cuss the male pilot as three cause-and-effect events resulted in all Hell breaking loose. 

Without warning, Unit-01 slung his right arm around the building he was using for protection, launching a volley of three quick shots from his proportioned Desert Eagle at the unsuspecting Angel. 

With an equal lack of warning, the Angel vanished from the sky without the hint of a trace, apparently activating its' AT Field in the process, for Lt. Aoba in that instant cried out, "Pattern Blue! Angel confirmed! It's right beneath Unit-01!!" 

And the final act of this play of horror began as the Angel returned to view as a circular pit of such eerie blackness that it appeared to not only be devoid of light, but absorbing and devouring all light around it. Slowly, the suddenly trapped Evangelion began to sink into the void beneath it. In an act borne of nothing more than sheer panic, Shinji unloaded three more rounds into the quicksand-like darkness under him, without effect. As the captured mechanization continued to be consumed, the pilot began to completely freak out. "What the Hell is this?! This can't be happening!!! Huh?" 

EVA-01's head craned up to stare at the gargantuan black blob hovering before him. The very same ball of discolored darkness than had been his original target. He could do nothing more as his body froze in fear. Despite all those voices telling how to save him, all he could do was stare in awe-struck horror and keep on sinking into the evil of the darkness at his feet. 

"SHINJI! GET OUT OF THERE!!!" Misato all but screamed at the main monitor displaying the sinking Unit-01. 

"IKARI!!" Ayanami yelled, a thing she had never before done, at Shinji. 

"YOU IDIOT! GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR!" Asuka commanded with equal fire as she had at the beginning of this operation, only now for different reasons. 

The only reaction from the endangered EVA was its' further sinking from shoving its' hands into the binding evil below, and Shinji yelling, at this point to no one but himself in his horrorstruck mind, "AAAHHHH! AHHH! Mis-, Mis-, Misato! Wha-, What's going on?! HHHEEELLLPPP MMMEEE!!!!!!" A few panted breaths later, "Misato!!!! MISATOOOOO!!!" the boy screamed. 

"Eject the Entry Plug! GET HIM OUTTA' THERE!" Major Katsuragi ordered in a panicky voice. 

"As Maya came back that there was no response, the last transmission to be had from Unit-01 in this battle was heard, "Can, can you hear me, Misato?! MMIISSAATTOO!!!!!!!!!! SSSSSSSHHHHHHH" the connection instantly broke to static as the massive giant's head and horn finally sank into the unknown depths. 

As terror overtook the rest of NERV, Misato held her cool enough to try and hold things together. "Asuka, Rei; rescue Unit-01! HURRY!" 

As she ran with all the speed her EVA could give her, Asuka mumbled, "Idiot! Stupid EVA tests aren't the real world!!" 

As Unit-00 opened fire on the hovering sphere, it once again disappeared. At once, Dr. Akagi warned, "Asuka, watch the streets!" 

At once, Unit-02's pilot realized the danger and reacted. "The shadow!" she screamed as the symbols and characters scribbled on the streets of Tokyo-3 below vanished into inky blackness. Before this transformation could complete, she leapt onto the side of the nearest building and used her weapons ass hand and foot holds to climb to the top. Upon her arrival she surveyed the scene before her, and could not help but, in her shock and horror, point out, "The whole city is sinking!" 

Just as soon as Asuka began thinking of some way to salvage this battle and, more importantly, Shinji, the last two things the teenage girl ever expected to hear right then came in quick succession. 

First, Misato's orders: "Asuka, Rei; pull back! Get out of there!" As the fiery redhead began to argue the point and demand an explanation, she was interrupted by the second surprise comment, Rei challenging orders. 

"Bu-, but Unit-01 and Shinji are still in there!" the pale girl cried out, looking ass though she had half a mind to follow him. 

_Why? Why does she care about Shinji? Why does she care about ANYTHING?!_> Asuka thought to herself as she stared down at the small holopicture of the First Child, a picture that showed the same pain Asuka herself felt at that moment. _Maybe, just maybe… Rei cares, but doesn't know how to show it. I guess… I guess that puts us in the same boat…_> she reminisced for a moment over all the times she had been a move away from taking their relationship to any non-platonic level, and all the times she, or he, had ruined it, and realized that not only did Rei have feelings for him, but that those feelings ran deeper than her own did. _A 'talk', perhaps… to get things straight…_> Asuka considered as she carried out her orders.   
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NERV Mobile Command Center: Outskirts of Tokyo-3, Japan ^5:33 PM^ 

Both remaining EVAs were kneeling down in the soft earth of the countryside, their pilots next to the command vehicles, awaiting orders to move out, or updates on the situation, or anything that would help to get Shinji back. Once again taking a opportunity for peace and inadvertently demolishing it, Asuka Langley-Soryu began to rant, "Well, taking matters into his own hands, defying operations… I guess he got what he was asking for. Just because he got a little better score than mine, why'd he have to go and show me how it OUGHT to be done!" As she spun around to face the only person there, she threw in a German insult only she understood before opening her eyes to find that person, Rei Ayanami, staring her down. "What?! Are my comments about Shinji pissing you off, Wondergirl?!" she yelled at the blue-haired girl. 

Without so much as blinking an eye, Rei replied, "Why do you despise Pilot Ikari so much as to insult him at such a time as he may never return?" 

"Why?! Because it's the truth! That's why! I dare you to disprove a single word I said!" the German girl challenged. 

Before Rei could respond, Misato came out of the Mobile Command Center and silenced them both with a glare. After a moment, she confirmed, "Asuka's right. He acted arbitrarily and without orders." then muttered in a barely audible voice, "I guess I'll have to punish him when he gets back…" before wandering off into the night. 

{**_"And then a bunch of really boring stuff happened, some of which you just don't need to know about" Asuka paused in mid-story to say._****__**

**_ "Asuka, please," Shinji leaned forward in the hospital bed as he begged, "Tell me everything. I don't care how stupid, pointless, or unnecessary it is. I just want to know what really, really happened."_****__**

**_ "Okay…" Asuka murmured, "But don't say I didn't warn you…"_**} 

As Ayanami began to walk away as well, Asuka swallowed her pride for a moment and politely asked, "Rei…, I need to… talk with you a sec. In private." The Second Child took the First by the arm and, without resistance on the First's part, led her into the surrounding forest a few hundred yards before stopping. 

"Okay, Wondergirl: For the rest of this conversation, I'll directly and truthfully answer any question you ask me, okay? And you'll directly and truthfully answer any question I ask you, understood?" Asuka explained in a less haughty than usual tone. 

"Very well, Pilot Soryu." Rei absent-mindedly responded as she prepared for the worst, "What is your question?" 

"Do you love Shinji?" Asuka was never one to beat around the bush. 

"Define 'love', Pilot Soryu." Ayanami asked for clarification, "If, by 'love', you mean having an affection towards a person or thing and care for its' well-being, then yes, I do. If, by 'love', you mean…" 

"GODDAMN IT, WONDERBITCH, I MEAN DO YOU WANT TO FUCK HIM?!?!?!?!?!?!" Asuka picked up the considerably lighter girl by the collar of her plug suit and slammed her against a nearby tree. 

"Please release me, Pilot Soryu, and I will answer your question." Rei calmly requested. As her flare of rage subsided, the redhead slowly complied, letting her captive slowly slid down the tree. A few seconds after her feet had once again found the ground, the tree's former resident spoke, "I honestly do not know. While I very much desire to be with Shinji and to become intimate with him, I feel a… resistance…, hesitance.., towards experiencing sexual contact with him and uniting with him. I do not understand this, yet it is how I feel." Rei had sat down in the almost muddy ground below them, a look of true perplexity on her face. After a solemn moment, however, her eyes took on a look, a fiery glow beyond those piercing red irises, a burning fire that death itself could not extinguish. "I do know, however, that I want Shinji to be happy and to have the chance to enjoy his life, whether he obtains this from my sexual company, yours, or Major Katsuragi's is irrelevant to me. So long as my Shinji is content, I am content." She once again began to stare Asuka down, this time winning. 

{**_"Rei..., she..., she really said that?" Shinji was dazed at the realization of something he had hoped would be since his first meeting the First Child._****__**

**_ "Oh, trust me, little Romeo-in-training; if you thought that was good, you're just going to LOVE this next part..." Asuka exclaimed with mock feeling attached to every word._**} 

Ms. Soryu's response to Rei's ultimatum shocked the pale woman more than any blow ever could. "I feel almost the exact same way. I mean, on the surface, just getting a hold on that guy in my bedroom for an hour or three is the primary goal, but as I dig down deeper, I realize that I want something more out of a boyfriend like Shinji than sex. As you told me your deepest emotions towards that idiot, I saw that I, too, really want nothing more than a happy Shinji, regardless of how that happy Shinji comes to be or who with." A brief smile spreads across her lips as she looks up at Rei as a sinner does a priest in a confession box, "Okay, so maybe I care a little, but not as much as you might think, ya' know?" 

{**_"Asuka..., I..., I never really thought that..."_****__**

**_ "Oh, for the love of God, Man!!!" Asuka gave the bedridden listener a look usually reserved for the insane, "If I made it any more obvious, there would have been a huge neon sign with three foot letters attached to my head reading 'I LOVE SHINJI'!! How can you honestly say you didn't know?!"_****__**

**_ "Well...," Shinji's eyes darted around in their sockets as h tried to form a response, "well..., I guess it was more than I was willing to get my hopes up to."_****__**

**_ "When I get through with this story, I'm going to make you eat those words..."_**} 

Rei reached out and took her fellow "Shinji-lover"'s hand and comforted her, "I understand how you feel. I hope that, in one way or another, we may one day be able to work as one, for Shinji's sake and our own." 

Just as Asuka was going to whole-heartedly agree, a stray thought popped into her head. _Holy shit, Asuka! This is REI FUCKING AYANAMI you're talking to and agreeing with here! You're all but agreeing to share YOUR Shinji with HER! Are you NUTS?! Snap out of it, Dumbass!!!_> her mental self ass-chewing quickly brought her back to her usual state of mind: a foul one. "Why am I seeking comfort in YOU of all people! What the Hell is wrong with me?!" and with that, the redhead beauty ran off back towards the clearing at a reasonable clip, leaving Ayanami to puzzle out this sudden turn of events.   
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Tokyo-3: Downtown: Active Combat Zone ^9:26 AM^ 

{**_"Basically, the only thing that happened all night was Ritsuko's explanation of what exactly happened to you. I had a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and I couldn't understand half of what she said. Something about a Sea of Duroc or something. I don't remember most of it." Asuka allowed the frown she had worn for the last five minutes to transform into a wistful smile, "I was too busy trying to think of a way to get you out of there. I didn't get a chance, though, as NERV thought up their own idea..."_**} 

That morning, the EVAs had risen along with the sun, although they had less positive business ahead. The two Units were positioned almost opposite each other, with city-sinking Angel between them. The theory was that their AT-Fields would help "apply pressure" to the Angel as the U.N. dropped all 992 remaining N-2 Mines into the creature, blowing it up from the inside out. This plan was hotly contested by Major Katsuragi, however, due to the fact that such a blast would surely kill Shinji and Unit-01. The simple response was that the plan would guarantee the recovery of Unit-01; the pilot was considered expendable. This train of thought did not win the plan much favor in the eyes of those involved in it. 

_This is bullshit!_> Asuka thought as she looked across the black pit to Rei in Unit-00, _I bet she wouldn't even do this if she had a choice... But good ol' Rei: I have orders, I must obey. I... I just wish she would snap outta' that! If she would just stand up against authority a little bit... Oh, shit! Here I go, not just talking nicely but THINKING nicely about Wondergirl AGAIN!_> the redhead mentally berated herself. 

"Mine drop in two minutes." Maya's slightly tired warning seemed to bounce around in the Entry Plug, echoing strangely. Thought on the subject was cut short as Ritsuko announced, "Okay: Asuka, Rei, get ready. You'll have to activate your AT-Fields simultaneously for the proper effect..." she topped suddenly as the Angel seemed to move. 

"Oh, great! Now what?!" Ms. Soryu wondered as the white and silver streaks vanished from the floating ball that turned out to be the Angel's 'shadow'. That same ball began to shake and twist, expand, contract, and bulge in places. The ground under it started breaking up towards the sky, revealing blood red rock underneath the darkness. 

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?!?!" Major Katsuragi exclaimed as she watched the events unfold on the vidscreen. When there was no immediate answer, Misato's calculating eyes fell upon the blonde doctor. 

"I... I don't know! We haven't DONE anything yet!" She quickly called up some sort of data from the screen. 

"Do you think it could be Shinji?" a clear hint of hope could be found in her voice. 

A hint of hope due to be beaten into the ground by science. "No way, Major. Unit-01's power levels must be at zero..." Further argument on the cause of all this was mute, as all eyes turned and faced the monitor and watched, all viewers felling something between horrified and nauseated. A huge spray of blood sprang forth as a giant hand thrust out of the hovering sphere, followed by its' twin, and finally the head and torso to which said hands belonged. With its' long awaited release from captivity, the rogue Evangelion let loose an ear-splitting, unholy, screeching cry, a cry for both the end of one battle and the beginning of another. 

{**_"OH MY GOD! Unit-01..... berserk?! That.., that's why I don't remember! EVA,... EVA wouldn't let me..." Shinji stammered as things began to fall into place._****__**

**_ The look on Shinji's face disturbed Asuka greatly. "Wha.. What are you talking about?! 'EVA wouldn't let you'? It's just a big toy; just an oversized machine which we tell what to do when. It... it can't 'let' or 'not let' you do something. The damn thing's a mindless doll._****__**

**_ "No, Asuka, it isn't. Not to me." Shinji's mind finally gave up trying to hold back its' knowledge of the events that day. Each one flashed through his mind on turn, each more and more frightening and horrifying than the last. As the slide show of horrors came to an end, he spoke in a monotonous voice, "I think... no, I know that my mother is in there..." he looked up at the young lady beside him with grief-stricken eyes, "Asuka, tell me that these... things I remember... that they aren't what happened out there..."_****__**

**_ Asuka Soryu had sat quietly throughout the return of Shinji's memories from their self generated mental block, was about to comfort him with a lie, simply to calm the lad, until she looked into those almost haunted eyes. She knew then that any lie she told would hurt him far more than the truth even stood a chance of doing. "Shinji... I don't know what you saw just now, but... but I know that look. The same look I've had more than once in my life; the look of pain, the look of internal suffering. I think you do remember what happened out there, as horrible as it was... as it is..."_**} 

"God and Heaven," Dr. Akagi fearfully murmured just loud enough for the audio microphone to pick up, "What kind of monster did we create this from?..." 

Asuka was too overcome with her own shock to pay attention to anyone elses. "Mien Gott! I PILOT that thing?!" she whispered. At that moment, the killing machine once known as Unit-01 crashed to the blackened, shattered earth beneath it, seemingly going inert in a hunchbacked stance, its' legs spread slightly to better absorb the impact, hands appearing menacingly like a bird's talons as they rested on the EVA's thighs. 

"Okay, begin recovery operations. Get the pilot out of there NOW! Have full medical teams standing by. Make preparations for Unit-01's recovery..." And so on and so forth the Head of the Scientific Division of NERV rambled. All ramblings ignored by the Second Child, still not quite over the sheer terror invoked by the Evangelion's stance. Her concentration on it was probably the only thing that saved her. 

A brilliant red fire burst into Unit-01's eyes as the mammoth machine began a rush towards Unit-02, arms poised to to grapple around the German EVA's neck. Only equal amounts of skill and luck allowed its' pilot to dodge this initial attack and set up in a more defensible position behind it. As soon a motion was detected, Rei and Unit-00 moved forward while the recovery teams ran for cover. Before a request for orders could be made, they were given. 

"Stay the Hell away from Unit-01! Do not attack it! Shinji may not be in control, but he's still synced with it. Any damage done to the EVA will be done to him as well!" Misato yelled at the pilots as she and the rest temporary Command Center's occupants tried to come up with a plan to calm the uncontrollable monster, "Try to restrain it long enough to force out the Entry Plug." 

"Understood." Rei responded crisply, and proceeded towards the purple bioandriod. 

"Yeah, like it's just going to let us all but kill it." Asuka whispered to nobody in particular, "A newer model A. I. robot doesn't like being powered down, and wouldn't if it had a choice in the matter. And trust me, a 140 footer like this DEFINITELY has a choice in the matter." 

Unit-01 must have felt the same way. As soon as the blue armored machine was within arm's reach, the berserker EVA's arms lashed out, hands finding firm anchoring with Unit-00's neck. As the armor plates on it's neck could be heard cracking under the stress, the strangled EVA was slammed into a nearby building, allowing even more pressure to be applied. As though for good show, the maniac monster broke off the damaged EVA's Power Cable, severing all controls between Unit-00 and NERV. 

"Auto nerve connection release failed." Maya had tried to save the girl before the order was given, as was procedure, but missed, "With the Cable cut off, a second attempt is impossible." Misato's only response was a surprisingly subdued yet still loud "Shit!" 

"Next brilliant idea, Misato?" the Second Child questioned sarcastically as she ran to the nearest weapons cache and grabbed an EVA sized assault rifle and headed back to the giant hole in the city. 

"Try to draw Unit-01's attention away from Rei. We have to assume this thing will act like an animal, and most large predators go after the most active prey when they're not hunting for survival. Let's hope EVAs follow suit." Katsuragi said as she gave a silent prayer that she was right. 

"EVA huntin' season it is, then!" Asuka wore a pride filled smile as she brought the rifle to bear at the rabid Evangelion, sighted in at where the right temple would be in the profile shot she had, and opened fire. The automatic rifle's ammunition did no recognizable damage to the AT-Field, but accomplished its' intended task, for Unit-01 had must certainly lost interest in Rei, for the time being. 

As the shots began to bounce harmlessly across the invisible wall around the creature, it turned its' head towards this new threat, losing all interest in its' current target, absent-mindedly giving one last extra powerful squeeze to Unit-00's throat as it was tossed against a building head first. Before Rei's EVA had fallen to the ground, another bellow of rage had left her attacker as it attempted another rush towards Unit-02. 

This time, however, Asuka chose not to avoid as continued to fire useless rounds at the blur of purple running towards her. When finally she ran out of ammo, she hoisted the rifle up by its' barrel, setting to use it like a baseball bat. With as much power as has ever been placed in a single mighty blow, Asuka swung that rifle straight into Unit-01's head, breaking the poor weapon in half on impact, yet not even fazing that which it struck. This was proven as the EVA lashed out with a heymaker that brought the crimson EVA to the ground, landing on its' ass long enough to kneed in the face, the raised armor plate striking solidly in-between the EVA's four eyes. Before Asuka had a chance to move, Unit-01 picked her almost unconscious Unit up and proceeded to throw it through the building which it had previously laid before, collapsing on the other side in a heap which now had two different hues of red. 

Having dealt with the agitator, the now dented purple monster returned to its' original target, which wa beginning to stumble back to its' feet. At the same time, Asuka Langley-Soryu fought back enough of the pain to drag herself to a standing position. 

"Asuka, are you all right?!" Misato half asked, half cried to the shaken pilot. 

"I'll live." Asuka lied. She felt like a pile of shit on a highway that had just been run over by a couple of semi trucks, but she'd never admit it. Ever. But, she would predict the future a bit, "That's more than I can say for darling little Shinji over there, starting in about five minutes." 

"..." Major Katsuragi said nothing for a moment, considering her options. Attempts to safely capture had failed. Both EVAs were in mortal danger. There was only one option left, "Asuka, this is an order: stop Unit-01 at all costs..." her voice faltered the slightest bit before she crushed all emotions behind the iron wall of duty, "Lethal force is authorized. Restrain if possible, damage if necessary, terminate if essential." 

"Damn right!" Asuka cried out, losing in her pride the fact of exactly WHO was the pilot of her target, "No one fucks with Asuka Langley-Soryu and gets away with it!" She then let loose a terrorizing battle cry and ran off towards her enemy, drawing a Progressive Knife with her right hand. Unit-01 was not hard to find, as a rogue Evangelion strangling a controlled one is not an everyday occurrence, and the howls of victory from the demonic attacker could be heard from Tokyo-2. Unit-02 snuck up as close as she dared, using the urban scenery for cover. All that was left was a quarter mile dash and a stab. With a feline grin, Asuka willed her EVA towards her (theoretically) unsuspecting prey, raising the Knife for a quick slash into Unit-01's back. 

As with many theories out there, that one didn't quite work out, as the moment the arm started down, it was intercepted by one of the berserker EVA's own, grabbing firm hold just below the wrist. Asuka snarled as she activated the Knife and attempted to stab at the offending appendage, but found it just outside the proximal weapon's reach. Looking her opponent in the eye, she would have sworn she'd seen a hint of evil humor in the crimson slits in the moment before it once again exampled its' strength; this time by crushing Unit-02's arm. The once again inert Progressive Knife fell from the now limp hand as an unholy wail could be heard from Asuka's Entry Plug. A scream of anguish as all the injuries she had suffered finally pushed beyond her pain threshold, stripping her mind of any coherent thought save finding some way to end this pain. A problem she did not need to solve, as the nerve connections were remotely cut from the Command Center before further damage could be inflicted. The lifeless EVA fell to its' knees with crushing force, flattening a few cars under its' massive legs, while kept from falling completely to the ground by the broken arm in Unit-01's hand. An arm quickly released, as the purple EVA gave the conquered foe one last kick before giving its' full attention back to Unit-00. 

Once the normal near paralysis feeling of the emergency nerve disconnect wore off and Asuka was once again herself, more or less, she activated her comm. system and asked, "How do I get a video feed in here or something? I may not be able to fight, but I'm safer here than anywhere else, and I wanna' know what the Hell's goin' on out there!" 

"Here's the best line we've got." Ritsuko said as she, along with Misato and Maya, appeared on her left display, "It's a feed off of one of the Tokyo-3 Defense Net Towers a few buildings from you. We're patching in comm traffic now." As she spoke, the forward screen blinked to life, showing a slightly fuzzy but good shot of the two remaining Evangelions. Only the hint of a red foot could be seen as a building got in the camera's way. Unit-01 had apparently redoubled its' efforts on the beaten blue EVA, as it was now putting its' weight into it, driving Ayanami through the building as well as crushing the helpless creature's throat. 

A second window appeared next to that of the temporary Command Center's, this one a live feed from Unit-00's Entry Plug. Rei could be seen with both hands grouping against nonexistent fingers around her neck, pushing as far into the control seat as she could. Her face had turned an extremely light but noticeable shade of purple, yet a faint blush of a reddish hue could be seen on her cheeks. There could be no doubt that death had begun to claim her, yet she seemed to fight with more strength as each moment passed, not less. Finally, as Asuka began to turn away from the gut wrenching image, her voice was faintly heard, "Pilot... Ik-... Ikari,... Please... stop....." 

The purple EVA didn't even budge as it continued to apply more and more pressure. Noticing this as well, Rei Ayanami put forth every bit of strength, energy, and will into one last, desperate attempt, "Pilot... Ikari,.... Shin-..... Shinji,..... Save.... me....." and at last the overwhelming tide of darkness claimed her. 

A split second after Rei's deathbed plea, there was the slightest of flashes in Unit-01's eyes. Eyes that turned to light absorbing black as the bioandriod shut itself down, unceremoniously crashing to the ground in what Asuka would later refer to as an 'Ass-dive', bringing the suffocated Unit-00 with it, due to the grip on its' neck. As gravity continued to work upon the massive EVAs, the death grip on the Blue Evangelion released, allowing to fall somewhat gently on top of its' attacker. 

"Okay, let's try this again." Misato Katsuragi's cautious tone drained away any sudden feelings of joy among those involved, "Send out rescue and recovery crews. Get medical teams for all pilots, priority on Rei and Shinji. Let's hope things go better this time..." 

_Thank God._> Asuka thought as she leaned back into her control seat and stretching, first cautiously, as though she expected attack, then more luxuriously, enjoying the feeling of getting the blood flowing. _I don't even want to think about what might have happened to Shinji if that EVA hadn't shut down. Misato might have ordered that Mine drop anyway, and then, my Shinji would have been..._> the smile beginning to form on her face instantly turned to a scowl _Wait a Goddamn minute! 'MY' Shinji?! The same 'MY' Shinji who very nearly killed me?! The same 'MY' Shinji who let Wondergirl off because of five damn word?!_> As is common with Asuka, her mood swings are violent, but short in duration _The same 'my' Shinji who couldn't control what that..., that..., that machine did. The same 'my' Shinji who would never hurt anyone. ever..._> a wisp of a smile formed on her lips, not a smile of superiority, but a smile of pride in those around her, and the boy that she would make hers, if she ever got the chance.   
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NERV 1st Cranial Hospital ^11:57 AM^ 

"And... and that about sums it up, I guess." Asuka Langley-Soryu adjusted her position on the side of the hospital bed, the same spot she had been in for the last hour and a half, "Since then, I've been going to school, getting out as soon as I could, and coming here to check up on you. Every day, they just said the same thing: 'There's ben no change in his condition. You're welcome to stay until visiting hours are over.' Then I'd just grab a chair and sit here. About half an hour later, Rei shows up and joins me here, and we just sit. We didn't talk. We didn't at or drink anything. Hell, we hardly ever move. We just stayed in those seats and waited for you to come back. 

Ever since the revelation of Unit-01's berserker, Shinji had simply sunk into his bed, seemingly unchanged by the tale of horror laid before him. Unchanged because he had had a front row seat for it all, right inside the Berserker's Entry plug, and those memories, well suppressed by his mind, had come floating back. As Asuka had spoken them, they flashed before his eyes, each more painful than the last, until the poor boy couldn't stand it anymore, yet it continued. Even at the tale's end, it took a few long minutes before he could bring himself to speak, "Asuka, I... I am so..., so very, very sorry. I... did those things to you and Rei. I... I don't deserve you, or Rei, or the time you've given for me. All I can do is hurt you. I... I... God, I am so sorry..." Shinji stumbled his apology between loud sobs as the tears he had thus far held back came forth in a raging turret. "I shouldn't be here. All I do is hurt others, whether their feelings or their bodies. I hurt Rei the first day I was here. My actions hurt Touji's sister that same day. I hurt you the night before we killed the 7th Angel. And since the attack on the 12th began, I've hurt you, Rei, Misato, maybe even Ritsuko. I don't deserve this... this care. I'm unworthy, I'm..." the hysterical boy was denied the chance to finish his little rant by a pair of silky red lips upon his own. His eyes widened as he realized this wasn't a dream, and that the self-proclaimed and commonly agreed with 'most beautiful girl in Tokyo-3' really was kissing him. As a deep crimson flush spread across his cheeks, Asuka broke away, her face a similar shade. 

"Now, if that doesn't shut you up, my fist'll have to." Asuka threatened as she formed said fist with her right hand, "Listen to me, Shinji, and answer me honestly, okay?" Shinji, still in near shock from her earlier actions, simply nodded, "When all this happened out there, did you have any sort of control over Unit-01?" 

The question took Shinji aback. "Of course not! Do you think I could do those things?!" he responded indignantly. 

"Precisely, Shinji. You couldn't do those things. The EVA did. You can't hold yourself accountable for things you can't control. Apologize when YOU fuck something up, not overtime something GETS fucked up. Apologize when it's your fault or when you could have done something about it, not just because it happened, okay?" a look of deep concern marred her features. 

Shinji lowered his eyes, once again finding that interesting spot on his sheets that seemed to appear whenever things like this happened. The truth of her words sank in slowly, and each one he committed to memory, if for no reason other than to always have her voice in his heart. Without the slightest movement, he mumbled, "I guess you're right. It's just that, apologizing is the simplest solution, you know?" 

"Yes, I do. That's half the reason I don't want you to do it all the time. Stand up for yourself! Take the hard road once in a while! Fight for your own self-respect! Apologizing is like suicide, it's the coward's way out..." As the truth of her own words sank in to Asuka, her eyes suddenly began to turn watery, her vision blurring at the realization of what she had just said. She leapt up from the bed and mumbled something about the bathroom before she quickly walked off, a small part of her mind hoping she had kept Shinji from seeing those tears form, and went to find an empty room to deal with memories in. 

Unfortunately, Shinji Ikari had seen the glittering balls of salty water begin to bead down her face and, if it were not for extreme pain in his back and legs, would have gone after her. To try and comfort her, or at least be there for her, his Asuka...   
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Post-Story Author's Notes

1. I am expecting full flaming for this. Don't let me down over there, guys! ~Beta waves at the members of the Fanfic Yakuza~ Although I'm sorry that you won't have Sterling to complain about this time. Such is life...   
  
2. I tried to write the flashback that was most of the story in a Third Person format based on Asuka's POV of events, which is why some things may sound a little freaky if you are trying to look at it in complete omnipresent Third Person.   
  
3. This is most likely going to be both a single chapter story and my last NGE fic, unless I can actually find positive feedback for once. If not, I guess I'll move on to (hopefully) greener pastures. If I do, however, the next chapter will either pick up here, or be from Shinji's POV. I haven't decided yet, and input would be appreciated.   



End file.
